Drawing upon decades of experience, RAND provides research services, systematic analysis, and innovative thinking to a global clientele that includes government agencies, foundations, and private-sector firms.

The Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS.edu) is the largest public policy Ph.D. program in the nation and the only program based at an independent public policy research organization—the RAND Corporation.

Add to website or blog

In this January 2015 Congressional Briefing, RAND researchers Beau Kilmer and Jonathan Caulkins present an overview of, Considering Marijuana Legalization: Insights for Vermont and Other Jurisdictions. The authors discussed:

The current landscape of marijuana policy in the U.S. and abroad;

The various options available to jurisdictions considering alternatives to marijuana prohibition (e.g., while the for-profit commercial model receives most of the attention in the United States, it is not the only approach and it may not be the best);

How much money Vermont could earn from legalizing marijuana and what it could mean for the Northeast;

How the federal-state conflict over marijuana can affect policy choices.

Full Briefing

Learn More

If Vermont chooses to remove its prohibition on producing and selling marijuana, lawmakers will have many choices to make about who will supply it, who can buy it, if and how it will be taxed, and how it will be regulated. There are pros and cons to all policy options as well as uncertainty about how different forms of legalization will affect public health and safety.

Podcast Subscription

Researcher Spotlight

Codirector, RAND Drug Policy Research Center

Beau Kilmer is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, where he codirects the RAND Drug Policy Research Center. He is also a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research lies at the intersection of public health and public safety, with a special emphasis on crime…

Support Our Work

The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest.